Ash ejecting and cleaning unit for tobacco pipes

ABSTRACT

An ash ejecting and cleaning unit for tobacco pipes is described. The unit includes a cylindrical sleeve that reduces to a relatively small opening at the top. A push rod extends from above the opening in the top to approximately the level of the lower end of the sleeve. A disk having a pair of outwardly and downwardly projecting wings is fixedly attached to the upper end of the push rod and a button, which is generally rectangular when viewed from below, is fixedly attached to the lower end of the push rod. A coil spring is located about the push rod between the upper surface of the button and the bottom surface of the reduction region located at the top of the sleeve. The entire unit is mounted in a cylindrical aperture formed between the bottom of a conventional pipe bowl and the outer bottom of the pipe. When the push button is rotated, the rod and the attached winged disc also rotate to loosen tobacco residue about the top of the sleeve. Thereafter, when the button is pushed toward the bowl and the bowl is inverted, the loosened tobacco residue is ejected.

Townsend 51 May 30, 11972 [54] ASH EJECTING AND CLEANING UNIT FOR TOBACCO PIPES [72] Inventor: Kenneth R. Townsend, P.O. Box 466,

Vanceboro, NC. 28586 [22] Filed: Nov. 30, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 93,532

521 0.5.0. .131/183, l3l/l84A 511 1m. 01. ..A24f03/02 [58] FieldofSearch ..131/181,183,'184R,184A, l3l/l84 B [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOR ElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 742,029 9/1966 Canada l 3 l/ l 83 Primary Examiner-Joseph S. Reich Att0rney-Griffin Branigan and Kindness 1571 ABSTRACT An ash ejecting and cleaning unit for tobacco pipes is described. The unit includes a cylindrical sleeve that reduces to a relatively small opening at the top. A push rod extends from above the opening in the top to approximately the level of the lower end of the sleeve. A disk having a pair of outwardly and downwardly projecting wings is fixedly attached to the upper end of the push rod and a button, which is generally rectangular when viewed from below, is fixedly attached to the lower end of the push rod. A coil spring is located about the push rod between the upper surface of the button and the bottom surface of the reduction region located at the top of the sleeve. The entire unit is mounted in a cylindrical aperture formed between the bottom of a conventional pipe bowl and the outer bottom of the pipe. When the push button is rotated, the rod and the attached winged disc also rotate to loosen tobacco residue about the top of the sleeve. Thereafter, when the button is pushed toward the bowl and the bowl is inverted, the loosened tobacco residue is ejected.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Patented May 30, 1972 2 mm F INVENTOR KENNETH R Toma:

monuevs ASH EJEC'IING AND CLEANING UNIT FOR TOBACCO PIPES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to tobacco pipes and more particularly to ash ejecting and cleaning units for tobacco pipes. Various types of ash ejecting and cleaning devices have i been proposed for use in tobacco pipes. While these devices have been designed to aid theremoval of residue (e.g., ashes, tobacco particles, tar, etc.) from pipes, they have been commercially unsuccessful for a variety of reasons. For example, most prior art ash ejecting and cleaning devices for pipes operate in accordance with the premise that an ejecting plate must rise to a point near the mouth of the bowl for satisfactory operation. Because of this premise, most prior art ash ejecting pipe units have been rather bulky in size, leaving very little room for tobacco in the bowl. Further, many prior art pipe units provide no means forloosening residue except through the action of a plunger. In addition, most prior art ash ejecting and cleaning devices for pipes require that the pipe in which they are to be mounted be specially constructed. Hence, many of these devices cannot be inserted into already existing conventional pipes.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved ash ejecting and cleaning unit for use in tobacco pipes.

It is another object of this invention to provide an ash ejecting and cleaning unit for use in tobacco pipes that includes means other than the action of a plunger to loosen the residue at the bottom of the pipe bowl.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved ash ejecting and cleaning unit for use in tobacco pipes that allows adequate bowl space for tobacco without making the pipe excessively bulky.

- It is a still furtherobject of this invention to provide a new and improved ash ejecting'and cleaning unit for use in tobacco ipes that does not require a special pipe for the unit to be useful. 1

lnaddition'to the foregoing problems, it will be appreciated that a major problem with pipes, regardless of whether or not they include an ash ejecting and cleaning unit, is that they often smoke hot and, thereby, reduce the enjoyment of the which it is used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with principles of this invention an ash ejecting and cleaning unit for tobacco pipes is provided. The ash ejecting and cleaning unit comprises a sleeve that is cylindrical in shape and reduced at the top to a relatively small opening to provide waterproofing. That is, the top of the sleeve is reduced in a somewhat conical manner to provide a top opening that is substantially smaller than the lower opening which is the size of the sleeve. A push rod extends from above the opening in the top downwardly so that its lower end is at approximately the level of the lower end of the sleeve. A disc having at least a pair of wings that extend outwardly and downwardly is fixedly attached to the upper end of the push rod and a push button is fixedly attached to the lower end of the push rod. A coil spring is mounted between the push button andthe lower surface of the reduced region of the sleeve. The foregoing unit is mounted in a cylindrical aperture formed in the base of a pipe the wings force the residue toward the top of the bowl and it drops into a suitable receptacle located beneath the inverted pipe bowl.

In accordance with further principles of this invention, the push rod has a head at its lower end and is square along its shank. The upper end of the push rod is under cut to fit into a square aperture in the winged disc. The top of the push rod is threaded and a nut holds the winged disc in place. At the bottom a box shaped plate having a square shaped aperture fits over the shank of the shaft. A suitable non-heat conducting button fits between the downwardly projecting sides of the box shaped plate.

In accordance with still further principles of this invention, the sleeve is formed of a high heat conducting material such as copper. In addition, the top of the sleeve is necked down in a stepped manner to form the reduced region. The number of steps may be one, two or more, however, two is preferred.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that the invention provides an uncomplicated ash ejecting and cleaning unit for tobacco pipes. The invention is double acting in that it is first rotated to loosen residue which is then ejected. In addition, the invention is considerably shorter along its longitudinal axis when compared with prior art ash ejecting and self cleaning units for pipes. Hence, when the unit is housed in a pipe the pipe's bowl does not lose muchftobacco room. Moreover, the invention can be mounted in a conventional pipe without requiring extensive modifications thereto by merely creating a cylindrical aperture through the bottom of the bowl and inserting the unit therein. In addition to its ash ejecting and cleaning features, because preferably, the sleeve is formed of a high heat conducting metal, the unit acts as a heat sink to dissipate the heat formed by the burning tobacco so that the pipe smokes cool and dry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded elevational view with parts broken away and shown in section, of the various elements making up a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is-a cross-sectional assembled view of the various elements making up the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention of the type illustrated in FIG. I mounted in a curved" pipe; and,

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a straight pipe having a preferred embodiment of the invention mounted therein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 is an exploded view that illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention. The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. I comprises a sleeve 11 that is open at its lower end and is necked down or reduced at its upper end. As illustrated in FIG. I, the reduction is created, preferably, by a two step reduction whereby two shoulders 15 and 17 are formed. The inner shoulder 17 surrounds a radially inner portion 19 that is substantially smaller in diameter than the sleeve 11. By stepping" the upper end in this manner, waterproofing about the hereinafter described push rod is provided.

A push rod 21 passes through the portion 19. In general, as shown in FIG. 2, the push rod 21 extends from slightly above the portion 19 to slightly below the lower end of the cylindrical sleeve 11. The shank of the push rod 21 is square and the lower end includes a flat head 23. The upper end of the push rod is under cut to a smaller square shape 25 and the top 27 of the push rod is cylindrical and threaded.

Attached to the upper end of the push rod 21 is a disc 29 which has at least two outwardly projecting wings 31 oriented as shown. The disc 29 has a square shaped center aperture through which the square shaped upper end 25 of the push rod 21 passes. A nut 33 screws onto the threaded top 27 of the push rod 21 to press the disc 29 against the shank of the push rod and, thus, fixedly holds the disc 29 in position.

A box shaped metal plate 33 has a centrally located square aperture. The square aperture is the same size as the square shank of the push rod 21 which passes through the aperture. The box shaped metal plate is oriented such that its curved sides or wings project downwardly. Preferably, the box shaped metal plate 33 is stamped from a piece of sheet metal and the sides are bent to the desired position illustrated in FIG. 1.

Located inside of the box shaped metal plate 33' is a button 35. The button 35 is rectangular in shape when viewed from beneath with the bottom being curved. Preferably, the button is glued inside of the sides of the box shaped metal plate 33' so as to project beyond the lower edges at the sides thereof. The button 35 is suitably notched at 36 to provide room for the head 23 of the push rod 21. Preferably, the push button is formed of a low heat conducting material.

Located between the upper surface of the box shaped metal plate 33' and the inner shoulder 17 of the sleeve 11 is a coil spring 37. The coil spring presses the button away from the top of the sleeve 11. It should be noted that, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the button 35 is relatively small so that it can pass upwardly inside of the sleeve 11 against the action of the coil spring 37.

The sleeve 11 and the other above described components are assembled in the indicated manner and are mounted in a cylindrical aperture located in the bottom of the bowl of a pipe. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a cylindrical aperture 41 having an axis that is coaxial with the axis of a pipe bowl 43 is formed through the bottom of the bowl of the pipe. The sleeve 11 fits in this aperture and is held therein by the use of a suitable adhesive such as an epoxy glue, for example. Preferably, the bottom of the sleeve I 1 curves slightly outwardly at its bottom so as to form a tight seal about the bottom edge of the cylindrical aperture 41.

It should be noted that not only is the ash ejecting and cleaning unit of the invention easily mounted in a pipe that has been designed for the inclusion thereof, but that a conventional pipe can be modified so that it can be easily inserted therein. All that is necessary is for the conventional pipe to have a cylindrical aperture drilled through the bottom of the bowl. Thereafter, the ash ejecting and cleaning unit of the invention is merely inserted and secured in the cylindrical aperture.

After being inserted into a pipe, the invention operates in the following manner. When it is desired to remove residue, such as ashes, tar and unburned tobacco, from the bowl of the pipe, the button 35 is rotated. This action causes the wings 31 to rotate and loosen the residue atop the sleeve, at the bottom of the pipe bowl. Thereafter, the pipe is inverted over a suitable receptacle and the button 35 is depressed against the action of the coil spring 37. This action causes the disc 29 and wings 31 to move toward the top of the bowl and the residue to drop from the bowl. In some instances, a slight tapping of the pipe bowl on the ash receptacle may be necessary to cause a complete removal of the residue. It should be noted, however, that the disc does not rise to the top of the pipe bowl, rather it rises only part way to the top. Yet, residue is removed in an adequate and satisfactory manner.

FIG. 4 illustrates a straight pipe 47 having an embodiment of the invention mounted therein. It should be noted that, as with the curved pipe illustrated in FIG. 3, the aperture 49 in the pipe stem which communicates with the mounth piece and the bowl essentially intersects the ash ejecting and self cleaning unit at the point where the outer shoulder I of the sleeve 11 is fonned. Hence, there is a clean draw through both pipes.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that a new and improved ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in tobacco pipes is provided by the invention. The unit can be formed and sold as part of a tobacco pipe or as a separate unit suitable for insertion into an already existing pipe. In addition to the ash ejecting and cleaning functions, a pipe using the invention has other advantages. For example, preferably, the sleeve 11 is formed of a suitable heat conducting metal, such as copper. Consequently, the sleeve acts as a heat sink that tends to dissipate the heat caused by the burning tobacco. Consequently, the smoke tasted by the person utilizing the pipe is cooler than normal. In addition, the metal sleeve causes a more rapid evaporation of the moisture that forms in the bottom of the bowl than normally occurs. Hence, not only is the pipe smoke cooler, it is also dryer.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art and others that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, various changes can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention. Hence, the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe having a vertical bowl comprising:

a sleeve having a large opening at one end and a substantially smaller opening at the other end;

a push rod co-axially mounted in said sleeve so as to pass through said smaller opening;

an ejection disc fixedly attached to said push rod above said smaller opening, said ejection disc including at least one wing that projects outwardly from said push rod and downwardly toward said sleeve;

a button fixedly attached to the other end of said push rod;

and,

a coil spring mounted about said push rod between said button and the inner surface of said sleeve located at said end having said substantially smaller opening.

2. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sleeve comprises a radially inwardly necked portion having said substantially smaller opening therein.

3. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a pipe as claimed in claim 2 wherein said necked portion is stepped thereby providing plural shoulders and wherein one end of said coil spring presses against one of the shoulders of said steps.

4. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 3 wherein said push rod is square shaped in cross section and wherein the end of said push rod to which said ejection disc is attached has an undercut portion forming a smaller square shaped region, said ejection disc having a square aperture adapted to receive said smaller square shaped region, said rod having a threaded upper end portion and a nut adapted to firmly attach said ejection disc to the upper end portion of said rod about said smaller square shaped region.

5. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 4 wherein the end of said push rod to which said button is attached includes a head, said button being attached to said head.

6. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a pipe as claimed in claim 5 including a plate having a square opening formed therein, said square shaped push rod passing through said square opening so that said head lies on one side of said plate, said plate further including a plurality of wings projecting beyond said head, said button fitting between said wings.

7. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 6 wherein said sleeve is formed of a high heat conducting material and said button is formed of a low heat conducting material.

8. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ejection disc has a square aperture therein and said push rod is square shaped in cross section and wherein the end of said push rod to which said ejection disc is attached has an undercut portion push rod to which said button is attached includes a head, said button being attached to said head.

10. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sleeve is formed of a high heat conducting material and said button is formed of a low heat conducting material. 

1. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe having a vertical bowl comprising: a sleeve having a large opening at one end and a substantially smaller opening at the other end; a push rod co-axially mounted in said sleeve so as to pass through said smaller opening; an ejection disc fixedly attached to said push rod above said smaller opening, said ejection disc including at least one wing that projects outwardly from said push rod and downwardly toward said sleeve; a button fixedly attached to the other end of said push rod; and, a coil spring mounted about said push rod between said button and the inner surface of said sleeve located at said end having said substantially smaller opening.
 2. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claiMed in claim 1 wherein said sleeve comprises a radially inwardly necked portion having said substantially smaller opening therein.
 3. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a pipe as claimed in claim 2 wherein said necked portion is stepped thereby providing plural shoulders and wherein one end of said coil spring presses against one of the shoulders of said steps.
 4. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 3 wherein said push rod is square shaped in cross section and wherein the end of said push rod to which said ejection disc is attached has an undercut portion forming a smaller square shaped region, said ejection disc having a square aperture adapted to receive said smaller square shaped region, said rod having a threaded upper end portion and a nut adapted to firmly attach said ejection disc to the upper end portion of said rod about said smaller square shaped region.
 5. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 4 wherein the end of said push rod to which said button is attached includes a head, said button being attached to said head.
 6. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a pipe as claimed in claim 5 including a plate having a square opening formed therein, said square shaped push rod passing through said square opening so that said head lies on one side of said plate, said plate further including a plurality of wings projecting beyond said head, said button fitting between said wings.
 7. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 6 wherein said sleeve is formed of a high heat conducting material and said button is formed of a low heat conducting material.
 8. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ejection disc has a square aperture therein and said push rod is square shaped in cross section and wherein the end of said push rod to which said ejection disc is attached has an undercut portion forming a smaller square shaped region which passes through said square aperture in said ejection disc, said rod having an upper threaded end portion and a nut adapted to firmly attach said ejection disc to the upper end portion of said rod about said smaller square shaped region.
 9. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 1 wherein the end of said push rod to which said button is attached includes a head, said button being attached to said head.
 10. An ash ejecting and cleaning unit suitable for use in a tobacco pipe as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sleeve is formed of a high heat conducting material and said button is formed of a low heat conducting material. 